Fed Says ECB, Others to Offer Unlimited Dollar Funds (Update1)
By John Fraher and Simone Meier
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve said the world's largest central banks will offer financial institutions unlimited dollar funds in an effort to ease tensions in money markets.
The ECB, the Bank of England and the Swiss central bank will conduct dollar auctions at maturities of seven days, 28 days and 84 days at a fixed interest rate, the Washington-based Fed said on its Web site today. The Bank of Japan will consider the introducing ``similar measures.''
Global central banks are stepping up efforts to counter the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In addition to cutting borrowing costs in a coordinated intervention last week, policy makers have injected billions of dollars into global money markets to facilitate lending.
``Central banks will continue to work together and are prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to provide sufficient liquidity in short-term funding markets,'' the Fed said in the statement. The ECB, the BOE and the Swiss National Bank ``can provide U.S. dollar funding in quantities sufficient to meet their demand'' into 2009.
The collapse of New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. precipitated the latest chapter of the 14-month crisis, causing banks to stop lending to each other out of concern they may not get their funds back. The Group of Seven finance chiefs, meeting in Washington over the weekend, vowed to take ``all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets.''
To contact the reporter on this story: John Fraher in London at jfraher@bloomberg.net; Simone Meier in Frankfurt at smeier@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 13, 2008 02:48 EDT
By John Fraher and Simone Meier
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve said the world's largest central banks will offer financial institutions unlimited dollar funds in an effort to ease tensions in money markets.
The ECB, the Bank of England and the Swiss central bank will conduct dollar auctions at maturities of seven days, 28 days and 84 days at a fixed interest rate, the Washington-based Fed said on its Web site today. The Bank of Japan will consider the introducing ``similar measures.''
Global central banks are stepping up efforts to counter the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In addition to cutting borrowing costs in a coordinated intervention last week, policy makers have injected billions of dollars into global money markets to facilitate lending.
``Central banks will continue to work together and are prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to provide sufficient liquidity in short-term funding markets,'' the Fed said in the statement. The ECB, the BOE and the Swiss National Bank ``can provide U.S. dollar funding in quantities sufficient to meet their demand'' into 2009.
The collapse of New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. precipitated the latest chapter of the 14-month crisis, causing banks to stop lending to each other out of concern they may not get their funds back. The Group of Seven finance chiefs, meeting in Washington over the weekend, vowed to take ``all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets.''
To contact the reporter on this story: John Fraher in London at jfraher@bloomberg.net; Simone Meier in Frankfurt at smeier@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 13, 2008 02:48 EDT